This invention relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for coupling a metering plate to a turbine engine blade.
Gas turbine engines typically include a compressor, a combustor, and at least one turbine. The compressor compresses air which is then channeled to the combustor. The compressed air is mixed with fuel and ignited within the combustor to generate combustion gases which are channeled to the turbine. The turbine extracts energy from the combustion gases to power the compressor, as well as to produce useful work to propel an aircraft in flight or to power a load, such as an electrical generator.
The turbine typically includes a rotor assembly and a stator assembly. The rotor assembly may include a plurality of rotor blades extending radially outward from a disk. The stator assembly may include a plurality of stator vanes which form a nozzle for directing combustion gases entering the turbine to the rotor blades.
During operation, the turbine stator and rotor assemblies are exposed to combustion gases. Over time, continued exposure to combustion gases may increase an operating temperature of the rotor and stator assemblies. To facilitate reducing operating temperatures, at least some known stator and rotor assemblies channel cooling fluid to radial passages defined within the rotor blades and/or stator vanes. More specifically, at least some known rotor blades and/or stator vanes may include metering plates coupled to an end of each blade and/or vane which partially cover openings to the radial passages to facilitate control of airflow into the radial passages. At least some known methods for coupling the metering plates to the rotor blades and/or stator blades include vacuum furnace brazing a plurality of blades and/or vanes simultaneously. However, such a coupling method may be costly and time-consuming.